Abstract

A new approach to thermophysical modeling of comets is presented and applied to interpret the production rate measurements of water and CO of comet C/1995 O1 (HaleBopp). A longterm observation campaign of this exceptional comet showed that the production rate of a volatile species like CO is coupled to the solar irradiation of the surface [1]. This is only conceivable if CO is located close to the surface. By solving the Stefan problem of a multilayered comet nucleus in a consistent way we obtain production rate curves for water and CO which we compare with measurements. Possible implications on the target comet of ESA's Rosetta mission 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko are discussed.
[1] Biver N. et al. (2002) Earth Moon and Planets, 90, 514

Document Type:

Conference or Workshop Item (Speech)

Title:

Thermophysical Model of the Production Rate of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)